Crucial is the fifth track on the second disc of Prince's 20th album Crystal Ball (his fourth under the name ). The album is not clearly divided between Prince tracks and tracks, but the liner notes' discussion of this track state "All instruments and vocals by Prince", so it is credited to Prince in this entry.

The song was written specifically for the planned musical The Dawn, which was ultimately abandoned, and the song was never intended for any of Prince's many late-1986 album projects (although the album notes in Crystal Ball state that it was intended for Sign O' The Times and was replaced by Adore).

It is believed that the version used for release on Crystal Ball was edited in 1997, although this has not been confirmed.